This is it

I’ve been a fan of Michael Jackson for as long as I can remember, and there’s no denying this post title is heavily inspired by the title of his final concert series, “This is it”, in an effort to convey the same message. This is it.

I’m not a fan of drawing things out, so without further ado: I will no longer be able to develop, maintain or support Mizuu and its user base.

I’ve always been good at starting projects, but I was never good at maintaining interest. Mizuu was the one exception and something I kept working on for several years, but everything has to come to an end.

As mentioned in the last couple of blog posts I’ve lost my passion and for the past six months it’s felt more like an unwanted job than a hobby or personal project. I don’t think it’s healthy – not for the application / project itself nor me personally.

Personal health issues

I’ve been experiencing some health issues since September last year and it’s something that I’m still dealing with today. Thankfully, it’s a lot better today than it was back then, but I’m still not doing great. I was burned out and experiencing just about every possible stress symptom at once. Not only mentally, but physically as well. I could feel my body “giving up” and I was having trouble thinking straight and remembering stuff. I’m a very logical person, so not being able to think straight is pretty much a nightmare.

There’s no denying that I’ve always had many balls in the air – maybe too many. About six months ago, I dropped a number of said balls and attempted to strip myself of various responsibilities. It helped me quite a lot, but in all honesty, I’m still not quite there yet. Mizuu made it through my initial “drop” of balls in the air, but it’s sadly not making it this time around. I’ve been having what feels like a cold pretty much ever since September and I just can’t seem to shake it. It’s rather annoying and as long as I keep having symptoms, I’m worried it’ll return. Focusing on what’s important will hopefully help.

I’ve been trying to focus on just two things for the past few months: Work and personal life. It’s a healthy change for me and there’s no doubt it helps improve my personal health. However, I still can’t help but think about my commitment to Mizuu – and not being able to fulfill that commitment.

What now?

This website will live on as it is. I’ll be unpublishing Mizuu from Google Play, but it’ll still be available from this site and Github. The source code will also still be available on Github. If anyone wants to be added as a contributor on Github, please let me know. I’d love for someone to maintain the code base.

The Facebook page will be unpublished and same goes for the Google+ page and community, if possible.

I’ll be creating a filter on my e-mail in order to filter away support e-mails. If you want to e-mail me about something important, you should use the contact form on this website or contact me on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Thanks for understanding and thanks for keeping with me through the years.

12 Comments

Markus
on May 8, 2015 at 8:57 pm

Good luck and the best for you Michell. Thanks for Mizuu and your endless efforts.You did something great.Now it is time to recover! Cheers

Hi Michell, I absolutely appreciate your transparency, and as the Anglo Saxxon put it “it is just a job”. Maybe Mizuu was much more than a job to you, but you look like a young person and are probably in the first phase of your professional career. So take it easy. Learn how to balance work & life, spend time with your loved ones. Find your sweet spot, what you enjoy doing.

I am sure that writing this post so openly, and sharing your issues, is already a big step forward in recovering from your burnout. To be honest, I was not using Mizuu much, but I think that you managed to develop a very neat app with very nice looks. You must be proud of what you achieved.

You also developed some skills (programming, managing an aggressive mob.) that are valued in this highly connected world. So the whole experience is absolutely positive.

Finally, health comes first. Take care of yourself. Looking forward to your posting an update in 6, 12, or 18 months time in this forum, not about mizuu, but about your life. We all care about you!

Your health has to come first. Big credit for creating one of only a few apps that I have used on every android device I have ever had. It is still my main movie organiser and by far and away the most asthetically pleasing app of its type out there. Good luck for the future and hope you are back to good health soon. Take care.

I’m a little late, but today I saw your last posts. I just want to thank you for the great years with you and Mizuu and the awesome work you did. Because of the fact, that I had my fight with a Burnout, too, I think, I know how you’re feeling. So I wish you all the best and hope it’s turning better!

I’m convinced you will get better. Nowadays, stress levels are higher than ever. We always want to improve, perform … somtimes costing our health or relationships. Don’t fall for that. Take a rest! Get your hearth free.

Clear your mind. Recover. And then, just follow heart.

Thank you for the wonderful hours you gave me with Mizuu (still giving each week).